Leveler door and operating mechanism

ABSTRACT

A LEVELER BAR DOOR IS RESILIENTLY MOUNTED TO A FRAME WHICH PIVOTS ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS, AND A LATCH IS MOUNTED TO THE DOOR IS BIASED RELATION TO THE DOOR FRAME. A REMOTELY CONTROLLED LATCH OPERATING MECHANISM CAN BE ACTUATED TO ENGAGE THE LATCH TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR WHEN THE LEVELER BAR IS ALIGNED WITH THE DOOR OPENING.

March 1971 ET AL 3,567,590

7 LEVELER DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM I Filed Jan. 21, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wait March 2, 1971 7 K. REINFELD ET AL LEVELER DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 21; 1969 INVENTORS KURT REINFELD f [MMANUH u 600m United States Patent O 3,567,590 LEVELER DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM Kurt Reinfeld and Emmanuel V. Gouye, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Koppers Company, Inc. Filed Jan. 21, 1969, Ser. No. 792,740 Int. Cl. (31% 25/12 US. Cl. 202---248 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A leveler bar door is resiliently mounted to a frame which pivots about a vertical axis, and a latch is mounted to the door in biased relation to the door frame. A remotely controlled latch operating mechanism can be actuated to engage the latch to open and close the door when the leveler bar is aligned with the door opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In conventional coke oven doors located on the pusher side of a coke oven chamber, there its a small leveler bar door located near the top of the coking chamber. Such door is usually opened after fresh coal has been charged into a coking chamber, and a coal leveler bar is extended from the pusher machine into the coking chamber to level the top of the coal in the coking chamber.

In one instance, heretofore, the leveler bar door is equipped with hinges, and a hand wheel mounted on a screw is turned to secure the door in place. When the hand wheel is turned to loosen the door, a bracket becomes unlatched, and the leveler bar door is swung open by hand. After leveling the coal, the bar is withdrawn and the leveler bar door is swung shut; the latch set in place; and the hand wheel is turned to tighten the leveler door.

Such a leveler bar door operates by hand and its opera.- tion is slow and often times the door is not tightly closed. Furthenbecause the door is operated manually, there is always the constant danger of injury to personnel who are required to open and close such doors.

The present invention is an improved leveler bar door that is operable from a remote location with a mechanical tool, or with an electro-mechanical device that makes opening and closing the door a simple and efiicient operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Apparatus of the invention includes a resiliently biased leveler bar door mounted to a bracket that is pivotable about a vertical axis in a side hinge. A latch maintains the door in the closed position, and a latch engaging mechanism, mounted to the pusher machine, is adapted to engage the latch to open and close the leveler bar door. The latch engaging mechanism retracts from the latch engaging position when the pusher machine moves from one coke oven chamber to another.

For a further understanding of the present invention and for advantages and features thereof, reference may be made to the following description taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings which show for the purpose of exemplification an embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention is illustrated in the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front elevational view of the upper portion of the coke oven door, including a leveler bar door in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view along line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view along line III-III of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the door of FIG. 1 showing one embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention to open and close the door; and

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FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the door of FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention to open and close the door.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 illustrates the upper portion of a coke oven door 11 including a hinged leveler bar door 13 in accordance with the invention. The leveler bar door 13 cooperates with a door frame 15 that is secured, as by bolts 17, to a central panel 19 of the coke oven door 11, and that has an opening 21 therethrough to admit a leveler bar 23 (FIGS. 4 and 5) into and out of the coking chamber to level the coal charged therein.

The leveler bar door 13 includes a main door body portion 25 having a peripheral edge 27 that carries a knifeedge sealing bar or strip 29. A dished heat shield 31 is secured to the door body portion 25 by means of a plurality of fasteners, such as cap screws 33. The main body portion 25 also includes a recess 35 in its outer surface, and a pin 37, threaded into the main body portion 25, extends outwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 3.

The main door body portion 25, and the members associated with it, are resiliently mounted, as by a coil spring 39, to a pivotable support bracket 41 that is pivotally mounted to a hinge 43 fixed to the coke oven door frame 45.

The pivotable support bracket 41 includes upper 47 and lower 49 transverse support bars that are mounted at one end by a hinge pin 51 to the hinge 43, and that are mounted at their opposite ends to a pivotable latch 53 (FIG. 2) by a pivot pin 55.

Intermediate the length of the upper 47 and lower 49 transverse support bars, there is a mounting on each said bar that accommodates a pivot pin 57 which is threadedly connected to a door support 59. The door support 59 surrounds the pin 37 and is provided with a socket 61 that receives the other end of the spring 39. A nut 63 is threaded onto the pin 37 to retain the door support 59 in position. The door support 59 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed threaded holes 65 within which guide pins 67 are threaded; such guide pins 67 also being slidably cooperative with the main leveling door body 25, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the resilient member or spring 39 maintains the door support 59 and the main door portion 25 in opposition since one is movable relative to the other, and the movement is guided by the pins 67.

The latch 53 includes a handle portion 69 that is pro vided with an open loop 70 at one end, while the other end is fixed to a tubular member 71 (FIG. 1) to which is fixed a cam latch 73. The pivot pin 55 cooperates with the tubular member 71 so that the latch 53 an pivot relative to the support bracket 41. The cam latch 73 is so shaped as at 77, that it is engageable with an abutment or stop 75 fixedly mouned to the coke oven door frame 15 to hold the leveler bar door 13 in the closed position.

Movement of the handle portion 69 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, disengages the cam portion 73 from the abutment 75 so that the leveler bar door 13 may be pivoted about the hinge 43 to open the leveler bar opening 21 in the coke oven door panel 19. The leveler bar door 13 may be swung open to some such position as that shown by the dotted outline in FIG. 2.

When the coal has been leveled and the leveler bar 23 has been retracted, the door 13 may be swung clockwise to its closed position. Thereafter, the cam latch 73 engages the fixed abutment or stop 75, and further counterclockwise movement of the handle portion 69 urges the support bracket 41 toward the coke oven door 11. The resilient or spring means 39 in turn urges the leveler bar door body portion 25 and its sealing bar or strip 29 into seating contact with the leveler bar door frame 15.

While in some instances the operation of the latch mechanism 53 may be successfully performed manually, it is more advantageous in most instances to o en and close the leveler bar door 13 as part of the sequence for charging a coke oven chamber with fresh coal. 'Ihen, such operation of the leveler bar door 13 is most eifectively accomplished by an electro-mechanical or hydro-mechanical means that is coordinated with the pushing and charging machinery.

Preferably, apparatus for operating the latch mechanism 53 is an electro-mechanical apparatus, such as that shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. Of course, hydro-mechanical or air operated apparatus may be used if preferred.

The leveler bar 23, shown in its retracted position, is supported on rollers 79 mounted to a pusher machine 81. Also mounted to the pusher machine 81 is an electromechanical latch operating mechanism 83. Likewise, either hydro-mechanical or air operated apparatus may be used to operate the latch operating mechanism.

The latch operating mechanism 83 (FIG. 4) includes a pivotable latch actuating arm 85 and a latch engaging pin 87; a rotary actuator 89 to which the latch actuating arm 85 is mounted; a support frame 91 mounted to the pusher machine 81; a pivotable support bracket 93 mounted to the support frame 91; a fluid-actuated, cylinder-piston assembly 95 mounted to the pusher machine 81 and to the support bracket 93; and, an indexing arm 97 mounted to the pivotable support bracket.

The latch operating mechanism 83 is remotely controlled so that, when the pusher machine 81 is aligned with a coking chamber that is to be pushed, the indexing arm 97 is not in contact with a buckstay 99 adjacent the coking chamber to be pushed. The pusher machine operator may then actuate the fluid-actuated cylinder-piston 95 to raise the support bracket 93 and the latch operating mechanism 83 associated with it. As the latch operating mechanism 83 raises, the indexing arm 97 engages the buckstay 99, and the latch engaging pin 87 projects through the loop 70 in the handle 69, as suggested in FIG. 4. The latch operating mechanism 83 is now in position to open and close the leveler bar door 13.

The rotary actuator 89 is air, hydraulic, or electric operated and is capable of turning the latch actuating arm 85 and the pin 87 along an arc subtending an angle of about 280; that is from the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 to the position shown by the dot dash outline in the same figure.

The latch engaging pin 87 is at position A initially, and it moves to position B where it engages the handle 69. The handle 69 then pivots about pin 55 and the cam latch 73 disengages from the abutment or stop 75. Immediately the cam latch 73 disengages from the stop 75, the spring urges the support bracket 41 and latch 53 away from the coke oven door 11 and the sealing bar or strip 29 is no longer under spring pressure or resilient bias against the leveler bar door frame 15.

Further rotational movement of the actuating arm 85 and pin 87 in a counterclockwise direction pivots the leveler bar door 13 to the position shown by the dash dot outline in FIG. 2; the pin 87 moving to position C.

After the coal in the coking chamber has been leveled, and after the leveler bar has been retracted, the rotary actuator 89 reverses direction and pivots the latch 53 and the leveler bar door 13 in a counterclockwise direction. The leveler bar door 13 covers the opening 21 in the coke oven door 11, and further clockwise rotation of the latch engaging arm 85 urges the cam latch 73 into engagement with the stop 75. The leveler bar door sealing bar 29 also moves into sealing engagement with the leveler bar door frame 15 under the influence of the spring 39.

Thereupon, the cylinder-piston assembly 95 is actuated to lower the support bracket 93, and to move the latch actuating arm and pin below the level of the latch handle 69.

When the latch actuating arm lowers, the indexing arm 97 coacts with a fixed cam 101 suitably mounted to adjacent immovable structure whereby the indexing arm 97 is pivoted about the vertical axis of the support bracket 93 to a position that allows the pusher machine to move alongside the face of the coke oven battery without damaging the indexing arm 97.

FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the latch actuating mechanism 83 shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 5, a latch actuating arm 85a is merely pivotally mounted to a support bracket 93a which is movable vertically by means of a cylinder-piston or electric cylinder assembly a. The latch actuating arm 85a is pin connected to a piston rod 103 of a cylinder assembly 105 universally pivotally mounted to a bracket 107 mounted to a frame forming a part of the pusher machine 81.

The bracket 107 (FIG. 5) includes top and bottom outwardly projecting arms 109 between which is positioned a vertically pivoting universal ring 111. The ring 111 is provided with trunnions 113 to support the cylinder-piston assembly 105 at its horizontally pivoting trunnions. Assembly 105 is on the same horizontal plane as actuating arm 85, when operating and slightly tilted when the actuating arm is moved down.

Like the support bracket 93 of FIG. 4, the support bracket 93a of FIG. 5 includes an indexing arm 97a that engages a buckstay 99a and a cam 101a in the way described previously.

After a coking chamber has been charged with fresh coal, it is necessary to level the coal by reciprocating a bar in the coking chamber; a leveler bar passing through a small door in the top portion of a coke chamber door.

When the pusher machine is so positioned that the leveler bar is aligned with the leveler bar door, the indexing arm contacts one of the buckstay adjacent the coking chamber to insure that the latch operating mechanism is in proper aligned position. Then, the latch operating mechanism may be raised, and the latch engaging pin cooperates with the latch to open and close the leveler bar door.

Those skilled in the art will recognize numerous features and advantages of the present invention among which are:

That the leveler bar door can be opened and closed by a powered mechanism from a remote location such as in the operators cab of the pusher machine;

That the use of a spring-loaded arrangement providing live pressure between the door and the door jamb permits easy latching of the leveler bar door and positive contact of the door seal on its jamb;

That the leveler bar door can be opened and closed safely and more quickly from a remote location without danger to personnel who, heretofore, have had to open and close leveler bar doors in the prior art manually;

That the pivoting intermediate door support permits the leveler bar door to pivot on a vertical axis and to close without applying excessive side pressure on the door sealing strip; and

That the spring-loaded leveler bar door applies equal pressure to the sealing strip to insure a satisfactory seal with the door jamb.

What is claimed is:

1. In a coke oven battery having a closure for a coking chamber and an opening in said closure to admit a leveling bar for leveling coal in said chamber, the combination with said closure comprising:

(a) a frame surrounding said opening and secured to said closure;

(b) a door pivotally mounted to said frame and movable relative thereto for covering said opening;

(0) latch means pivotally mounted to said door for engaging said frame and for maintaining said door in a closed position covering said opening; and

(d) remotely controlled means engageable with said latch means for unlatching and for latching and opening and closing said door, said remotely controlled means including: 7

(i) an arm mounted to an actuator and engageable with said latch means, (ii) a fluid-actuated cylinder-piston connected to said arm for moving said arm, and (iii) means for indexing said arm relative to said latch whereby said arm is engageable with said latch means when said cylinder-piston moves said arm into operative juxtaposition therewith.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein:

(a) said means to index said arm includes a lever pivotally mounted adjacent said fluid-actuated cylinder-piston and engageable with said coke oven battery.

3. The invention of claim 2 including:

(a) means to pivot said indexing lever to an inoperative position when said latch operating mechanism disengages from said latch means.

4. In a coke oven battery having a closure for a coking chamber and an opening in said closure to admit a leveling bar for leveling coal charged in the chamber, the combination with said closure comprising:

(a), a frame surrounding said opening and secured to said closure;

(b) a support bracket pivotally mounted to said frame;

(c) a door mounted to said support bracket and movable relative to said door frame, said door being adapted to cover said opening in said closure;

((1) a heat shield secured to said door that is directed toward said coking chamber;

(e) a spring resiliently biasing said door body portion to said support bracket;

(f) guide means maintaining said door and said support bracket in a preselected relation;

(g) sealing means carried by said door for forming a seal with said door frame when said door is closed;

(h) a latch pivotally mounted to said support bracket and having a latch cam and a latch actuating arm;

(i) means on said door frame that is engageable with said cam latch portion to maintain said door in the closed position; and

(j) means for actuating said latch and for opening and for closing said door including:

(i) an arm mounted to an actuator and engageable with said latch,

(ii) a fluid-actuated cylinder-piston connected to said arm.

(iii) means to actuate said cylinder-piston to bring said arm into operative juxtaposition relative to said latch means,

(iv) means for indexing said arm relative to said latch whereby said arm is engageable with said latch when said cylinder-piston moves said arm into said operative juxtaposition, and

(v) means to activate said actuator to pivot said arm thereby disengaging said latch means from said frame.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein:

(a) said means to index said arm includes a lever pivotally mounted adjacent said cylinder-piston engageable with said coke oven battery.

6. The invention of claim 5 including:

(a) means to pivot said lever to an inoperative position when said latch engaging mechanism disengages from said latch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,197,943 4/ 1940 Potter 202248 2,251,541 8/1941 Grasshoff 202248 2,442,391 6/ 1948 Wilputte 202-248 2,803,592 8/ 1957 Shimazaki 202248 WTLBUR L. BASCOMB, 111., Primary Examiner D. EDWARDS, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

